Johannesburg - Ryan Kankowski will lead the Golden Lions when they take on the Pumas in Nelspruit in the Currie Cup on Sunday.
Kankowski joined the Lions from the Sharks recently and his experience and leadership in the absence of the senior players still entrenched in Super Rugby will be a big boost for the side.
The bulk of the Supersport Rugby Challenge side has been retained for the Currie Cup in the interim while Super Rugby is still underway.
The same coaching staff of Bafana Nhleko, Wessel Roux and Herkie Kruger will take charge of the Currie Cup side under the tutorship of newly appointed head coach Swys de Bruin.
Teams:
Pumas
TBA
Golden Lions
15 Ashlon
Davids, 14 Madosh Tambwe, 13 Stokkies Hanekom, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Shaun Reynolds, 9 Marco Janse van Vuren, 8 Ryan Kankowski (captain), 7 Jano Venter, 6 James Venter, 5 Rhyno Herbst, 4 Marvin Orie, 3 Andrew Beerwinkel, 2 Pieter Jansen 1 Sti Sithole
Substitutes: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Nico du Plessis, 18 Bobby de Wee, 19 Hacjivah Dayimani, 20 Fabian Booysen, 21 Bradley Thain, 22 Jan-Louis la Grange